This summer, chef Andrew Coins, who comes to Nashville from Charleston, S.C., will take the reins at The Rosebud Bistro. / Dipti Vaidya / The Tennessean

Written by

Jennifer Justus

The Tennessean

This summer, local favorite Anita Hartel has plans to hand over chef duties at The Rosebud Bistro, the historic home and restaurant formerly known as Mambu. Stepping into the kitchen role is Andrew Coins, who comes to Nashville from Charleston, S.C.

“I’m just excited to have someone to brainstorm with,” said Hartel, who will still have a hand in the operation.

When she’s not greeting guests and spending time at the front of the house at Rosebud Bistro, you might find her in her Inglewood garden tending to herbs and produce that Coins might turn into meals.

How long have you been here?

“Right at a month.”

I saw a lot of Charleston on your resume. Are you originally from Charleston?

“I was born in Decatur, Ill. But for most of my life, I grew up right around Smithfield, N.C.”

He started school in Charleston at Johnson & Wales University, and when that location closed, he finished in Charlotte.

“I think it’s important when you first start to cook, and being a chef, that you move around,” he said.

But at the ripe old age of 28, he was ready to settle down for a while.

What do you like about Nashville?

“A lot of the people I worked with at The Charleston Place Hotel had taken vacations here,” he said. “They said, ‘You should really check out Nashville. They’ve got an up-and-coming food scene … a lot of room to grow.’

“My wife and I took a couple of trips here, and we scoped it out and thought it would be a good place. ... And my wife’s from Memphis … she’s a lot closer to family now.”

How did you learn to cook?

“Probably when I was like 6 or 7. My grandma cooked every day. I watched her, and every once in a while, she’d let me help.”

At the beginning of his senior year in high school, someone handed him a pamphlet for culinary school.

“I was blown away ... I told my dad, this is what I’m doing for the rest of my life.”

“That’s a really easy one for me. When I worked at Chez Philippe (in the Peabody Hotel in Memphis) … I worked with Reinaldo Alfonso. He’s now in Philly. He was the first chef that treated me like an adult in the kitchen: I expect this, I want this, and this is why you do this.”

Do you have a favorite ingredient right now?

“We’ve got a couple of good ones ... the first soft shell crabs are coming in. In the next couple of weeks, we’ll start getting ramps. I like seasonal things. It’s the beginning of peas and field peas, and halibut is one of my favorite fish, and those should be running pretty heavy right now.”

What’s the most interesting thing in your fridge?

“I actually do not have a lot in my fridge right now. But I did pickle some vegetables, pickled radishes, green beans. I actually have a compressed kale salad in my refrigerator.”